A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues?

During this week’s module we evaluated Benjamin Franklin's self-improvement program. This program includes 13 virtues that Benjamin Franklin felt were important guides for living along with principles for each that would help lead an individual to being of good character. In my reading of these virtues I was certainly able to pick up a few of the principles and evaluate an application of them to my own daily life.

The first principal that I could use more of in my daily life is moderation, I tend to go into waves of extremes when I engage in an activity, whether it is online shopping, watching Netflix, or even working, I tend to force myself to do it all at once in excess (“Ben’s 13 Virtues”). For example, when I go to work I tend to get sucked in from time to time in a really excessive way, to the point where I forget to drink water or eat and then I end up with headaches.

The next principal that I could use more of in my life is the order principal, as defined as letting all your things have their place and time (“Ben’s 13 Virtues”). Aligned with my excessive behavior at work, I tend to try to multitask, attempting to cover too many things or tasks at once. This sort of behavior does nothing but frustrates and causes stress so I can definitely benefit from applying more order to my own life.

The last principal I would seek to implement is the temperance principal, which is defined by Franklin as “eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation” (“Ben’s 13 Virtues”).  In my personal life I rarely loose my temper, but when I do it seems to be rather explosive and most often over something so extremely minor with really low impact in the grand scheme of things. I could use the temperance principal to really control those sort of unjustified outbursts.

Ultimately, though not all of Franklins principles apply to everyone, there are areas of improvement in my own life that I can help guide to resolution from the principles gleaned here. This exercise also brought me to the realization that even as an adult we have areas that we can improve, so seeking out ways to improve our character and daily lives is critical to ensuring that we continue to grow as individuals.

Reference

Ben’s 13 Virtues. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html